Before The Beginning
by CaptiveSoul
Summary: After her parents' death, before she has even met the Salvatore brothers, Elena comes across to Elijah. A meeting that will define the rest of her life and deliverance. Fear, enchantment, captivation, compulsion.


**Before the beginning**

"_Dear Diary. Today wasn't different. It was just another day of pretend; just another day of lies. I smiled and it was believable. No one managed to look through me and understand how broken I am. People ask you how you are doing and they expect you to say "I'm fine, I'm so much better, time helps". But that's not how it is. There are some things that time can't heal. Time can't heal me…"_

As she finished that phrase, Elena stopped writing on her diary; her hand froze against the warm paper of the page. She remained still for a few seconds, staring at the small passage she had written for today. She couldn't think of anything else; those few words described everything she felt, everything she thought since her parents had died. Not Bonnie, not Matt, not Caroline, no one could help her let go. Not even her brother Jeremy, who had succumbed to the use of drugs for a few weeks now. She acted like she didn't know but it was obvious to everyone. She couldn't blame him. Jeremy was only making attempts to get rid of the pain, just like she did. But nothing had worked so far.

She closed her diary and placed it on the night-table next to her bed. She glanced at the clock; it was after midnight, yet she could feel no sign of tiredness. She stood up and stretched her slender figure before walking towards the wide window in the centre of her room. In the dark, quiet image of the streets of Mystic Falls at night, the lights of the streets made the only difference. Elena grabbed her light brown jacket that was thrown on the sill of the window and she walked out of her room, with small, quiet steps. She closed the door behind her, without making the slightest noise, so that she wouldn't wake up Aunt Jenna or Jeremy, and she descended down the stairs, on her tiptoes. The main door of the house was locked but Elena managed to unlock it without making too much noise again; she didn't want anyone to wake up, she just wanted to be alone. She needed that. All the pressure, all the pain she felt, she wanted to let it go. She wanted to feel free but she knew she couldn't. She emerged out of the house, taking the keys along with her in the pocket of her jacket. Her mocha gaze roamed around the empty streets of her neighbourhood; no one was around. Most of them must have gone to sleep already.

Elena grasped the edges of her jacket, pulling them tighter and closer around her, for warmth. It was a cold, quiet night. She walked along the pavement with her chocolate brown oculars lowered to the ground; the breath coming out of her parted lips was apparent due to the moisture. The minutes passed without her realizing it. Soon she found herself at the suburbs of the town, close to the Mystic Falls' forest. She lifted her head then and looked around, without really expecting to see something specific. She pulled her cold hands inside her sleeves, to warm them up, and stood still for a while. All she wanted was to clear her mind, just for a bit. Nothing so far had managed to help her with that; nothing and no one. Her dry, cold brims elicited a quiet, long sigh. She let her head fall backwards so her face was directed towards the night sky. She fluttered her eyes shut and got lost in the memories of her previous life, the life when she had her parents. The life when she didn't know what real pain was.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wood cracking. She immediately opened her eyes again and glanced around towards all the directions surrounding her; she couldn't see anyone but she couldn't know what secrets were hidden in the shadows. She inhaled sharply and wrapped her slender arms around her frame before she started walking again back towards her house. Soon, though, the sound of a second wood cracking made her stop on her tracks and quickly turn around, cautiously examining her surroundings without managing to find a trace of a presence after all. Her dark, nicely sculptured eyebrows were furrowed together in a soft frown, her mocha coloured optics narrowed. She turned around to continue walking back to her house but she found herself running into someone's chest instead. The sudden touch and the surprising presence caused a startled whimper to escape her lips before she took a few, quick steps back, away from the figure that was standing in front of her. The man, instead, didn't move at all. Elena's gaze wandered through his facial features; she didn't know him. He had dark brown hair and intimidating, deep brown eyes. He was quite tall and his body seemed firm, beneath the black suit that he was wearing. He was wearing no tie, only a white shirt and a black jacket and trousers. Elena's chocolate brown gaze momentarily met his piercing, chestnut one; he was staring at her intently and that made her feel even more uncomfortable. "Excuse me." she finally murmured before making a failed attempt to walk past the mysterious man who also stepped to the side, blocking her way once again. Elena held her breath and avoided to look at him in the eye again. She caught herself starting to tremble, not so much because of the cold of the night but mostly because of the fear that had now started running through her veins. She didn't need this; she didn't need the fear, the danger. She didn't need her life to be damaged even more; especially not Jeremy's. A part of her was telling her to turn around and run away the fastest she could and maybe she would escape the stranger, but she couldn't. Maybe he wasn't dangerous. Maybe he didn't want to harm her. Though at this hour in the night what else could he possibly want? In her head, she planned on what to tell him next so he would let her go. But it was him who spoke first this time.

"Katerina." Elena heard his voice coming out of his mouth, soft and calm.

She didn't know anyone with such a name; he was probably confusing her with someone else. She was about to answer to him, to tell him that she wasn't this Katerina but the feeling of his strong, cold digits curving under her chin, tilting it upwards to make her look at him didn't allow any words to come out of her mouth. She held her breath as her gaze met his again but soon she avoided it by allowing her eyes to wander through his soft, handsome facial features. She couldn't speak; she couldn't move; she couldn't think. She couldn't tell if her stagnation was due to her fear or due to the enchantment this stranger was casting on her.

The man lowered his gaze to her chest and immediately pressed his eyebrows together so a small frown would take over his forehead. He remained like this for a few seconds, as if he was listening to her heartbeat which Elena knew that was much faster than usual. Once his gaze returned to her face, she felt his thumb brushing smoothly against her jaw line and his bewitching, dark oculars capturing her own.

"What's your name?" the man spoke again, in the same suave tone.

Elena pressed her dry lips together in a thin line momentarily, no words escaping her mouth right away. Her breath was unstable and her eyes almost teary, unable though to break away from his piercing gaze.  
"E-Elena…" she answered, her voice trembling as she did so.

She couldn't help but notice the confusion that briefly took over the man's features. Soon, though, he went back to his unreadable, serious expression. His head dropped a few inches downwards in a small, firm nod, his thumb still tracing her jaw line, slightly touching her bottom lip at the same time. His thin, soft brims curved into a faint smile, something that Elena was taken aback by. What was so amusing that made him smile? That's something she couldn't answer. Her mind felt cloudy; empty. She felt like in trance as the man leaned towards her, slowly closer and closer until their lips were inches apart. Her eyes involuntarily fell closed and her lips parted, so her heavy, quiet breath could come out. She was ready to welcome his lips on hers but that never happened. She felt his cold breath brushing on her face and his soft words drilling through her ears: "Stay brave…stay safe…lovely Elena. Always and forever." After that she couldn't feel his breath anymore; she couldn't feel his touch. Her eyes snapped open and fell on the street ahead of her. There was no one there. No one had ever been there.

Elena blinked her eyes a few times and ran her slender digits through her dark brown hair in confusion. She couldn't remember how long she had been standing there. She couldn't remember what had happened. Getting lost in her thoughts about the past was the only possibility that came to her mind. She racked her brain to remember but she couldn't; nor did it matter much. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body and started walking again back to her house.

That night she slept with only one thought in mind; she had to stay brave and safe. _Only that way she would make it through._

- The end


End file.
